His sentence for the state embezzlement counts will run concurrently with the three-year federal sentence he received Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Asheville.

Now a twice-convicted felon, 63-year-old Neill will serve three years of his sentence in federal prisons and three to five years in state prisons before he will be eligible for release at age 69.

“I had a breakdown and committed serious transgressions,” he told the court, as his son's eyes pooled with tears. “I intend to use whatever time I have left to make up for this.”

Judge William Pittman ordered Neill's state punishment to run concurrently with his federal sentence.

In September, the disbarred attorney pleaded guilty to five counts of embezzling close to $2.5 million from his clients, including more than $884,000 from a trust set up to help charitable institutions care for the needy.

Pittman consolidated the first two of Neill's five embezzlement charges Thursday in Henderson County Superior Court into one count for a punishment of six to eight years.

He then combined the remaining charges into one count for a suspended sentence of a minimum six years and eight months to a maximum of seven years and 11 months, which will only be activated if Neill fails to obey the terms of his release.

The judge ordered Neill to pay the restitution he has promised to his victims and to serve 36 months supervised probation upon his release from state custody.

Neill will remain free under “electronic house arrest” between the hours of 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. until U.S. marshals contact him to begin his federal sentence within four to six weeks.

“When I think about the judgments, I'm not quite sure what number of years would have been right or wrong. At the end of the day, it would just be wonderful that we actually would see the money that was intended to come to benefit the mission of Four Seasons,” said Chris Comeaux, president of the hospice organization, which was promised $500,000 by Barry Clemo in his will.

“Barry Clemo devoted his life to Four Seasons,” where his first two wives passed away, Comeaux told the court. Clemo's hospice family called him “Mr. Fix-it” because the dedicated volunteer was always there to fix things. But when he fixed his will to carry on his legacy of supporting the organization's mission, with 10 percent of his gift going to serve the indigent, Comeaux said Clemo didn't know his last wish would die with him.

Comeaux told the court that Clemo's gift to Four Seasons “would have provided, with compounded interest, 756 palliative care experiences to families just like his.” Now, Comeauz said he hopes, but doubts, they will see the full restitution.

‘Destroyed Clemo's legacy'

The Community Foundation of Henderson County was also set to benefit from the Barry Clemo Charitable Remainder Trust. Special Agent Andrew Papas, with the State Bureau of Investigation's financial crimes investigation unit, said Neill admitted to taking $884,514.71 from the trust between April 8, 2009 and Nov. 15, 2010. He promised to repay the trust $1,150,000.

“Mr. Clemo was a very humble man. He told me that his gift may not be the largest amount of money that the foundation worked with, but for him and his wife, it was the greatest gift they could ever give,” said McCray Benson, president of the foundation.

The trust created funds to help animals suffering from inhumane treatment and to assist families with loved ones at their end of life.

“I can still remember how much this legacy meant to Mr. Clemo and how happy he was at this ability to help others,” Benson said. “The actions of Sam Neill destroyed the Clemos' legacy.”

Papas testified that he started looking into the case of missing funds in the Clemo Trust in 2011, nearly two years after Clemo passed away. Four Seasons and the Foundation had not seen a dime.

In his investigation, Neill confessed that he also took funds from other trusts and estates, Papas said, totaling $2,479,197.35 between 2000 and 2010.

“...Mr. Neill represented himself to many in our community and across North Carolina as a champion of charitable causes. His actions in stealing money from Mr. Clemo's trust made plain that nothing could be further from the truth,” Benson said.

Repayment

Neill's lawyer, Joseph B. Cheshire, said his client worked with each of the successors to come up with plans for restitution.

Charles Waters, handling the Irene Meinke Trust, said repayments were “not negotiated in a sense of give and take,” but were offered in a “take it or leave it” deal with real estate as collateral.

He said Neill withdrew $342,000 from the Meinke Trust on Feb. 6, 2009, assigning repayment to deeds of trust to property owned by Mascral Inc.

“These deeds and trusts at the time were second and third liens on the collateral property. Those deeds of trust have since been wiped out by bankruptcy actions, so the collateral is worthless,” Waters said.

Attorney Edward Harrelson, representing the Edna A. Davis Revocable Living Trust, said their restitution is tied to property that has yet to be marketed for sale. The trust was set up to benefit the Blue Ridge Humane Society, St. Jude Christian Research Hospital, Alley Cat Allies, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

“I do not know if we will ever receive any real restitution from the defendant,” Harrelson said. “As an attorney in Henderson County, I cannot say that I am personally angry, but I am profoundly saddened and disappointed.”

Waters said this was a hard case for him and for the profession he has devoted his life to since 1968. County lawyers had escaped from a cloud of bad publicity after local lawyer Jim Toms was charged with embezzling about $1.5 million from his clients in 1995, he added.

The case of Sam Neill has also weighed heavily on his family.

“When my brother told me, I guess my first duty was to make sure that he didn't try to kill himself because he was so distraught about this,” said Roy Neill, younger brother of Sam Neill.

Both brothers agreed to sell a tract of family land they now co-own that once hosted an old drive-in theater to help repay the Clemo Trust. The property is now listed with a sale price of $1.9 million. Sam Neill's half of the proceeds will benefit the trust.

“Our family wants to help how we can,” Roy Neill said. “He (Sam Neill) has done a lot for people over the years. He has his faults just like everybody else, but we were not raised to be thieves. It was a shock to me when I found out that he did this.”

Roy Neill said he initially thought his brother was going to tell him he had cancer when Sam Neill asked to see him two years ago.

“He had lost 60 pounds over a period of about six months,” Roy Neill said, recalling his brother bursting into tears in front of him as he began to talk about the embezzlement. “It was very contrary to the way he'd lived his life.”

<p>Former Hendersonville attorney Sam Neill was sentenced Thursday to six to eight years in prison for embezzling close to $2.5 million from his clients. </p><p>His sentence for the state embezzlement counts will run concurrently with the three-year federal sentence he received Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Asheville. </p><p>Now a twice-convicted felon, 63-year-old Neill will serve three years of his sentence in federal prisons and three to five years in state prisons before he will be eligible for release at age 69.</p><p>“I had a breakdown and committed serious transgressions,” he told the court, as his son's eyes pooled with tears. “I intend to use whatever time I have left to make up for this.”</p><p>Judge William Pittman ordered Neill's state punishment to run concurrently with his federal sentence.</p><p>In September, the disbarred attorney pleaded guilty to five counts of embezzling close to $2.5 million from his clients, including more than $884,000 from a trust set up to help charitable institutions care for the needy. </p><p>Pittman consolidated the first two of Neill's five embezzlement charges Thursday in Henderson County Superior Court into one count for a punishment of six to eight years. </p><p>He then combined the remaining charges into one count for a suspended sentence of a minimum six years and eight months to a maximum of seven years and 11 months, which will only be activated if Neill fails to obey the terms of his release.</p><p>The judge ordered Neill to pay the restitution he has promised to his victims and to serve 36 months supervised probation upon his release from state custody.</p><p>Neill will remain free under “electronic house arrest” between the hours of 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. until U.S. marshals contact him to begin his federal sentence within four to six weeks.</p><p>“When I think about the judgments, I'm not quite sure what number of years would have been right or wrong. At the end of the day, it would just be wonderful that we actually would see the money that was intended to come to benefit the mission of Four Seasons,” said Chris Comeaux, president of the hospice organization, which was promised $500,000 by Barry Clemo in his will.</p><p>“Barry Clemo devoted his life to Four Seasons,” where his first two wives passed away, Comeaux told the court. Clemo's hospice family called him “Mr. Fix-it” because the dedicated volunteer was always there to fix things. But when he fixed his will to carry on his legacy of supporting the organization's mission, with 10 percent of his gift going to serve the indigent, Comeaux said Clemo didn't know his last wish would die with him.</p><p>Comeaux told the court that Clemo's gift to Four Seasons “would have provided, with compounded interest, 756 palliative care experiences to families just like his.” Now, Comeauz said he hopes, but doubts, they will see the full restitution.</p><p><b>'Destroyed Clemo's legacy'</b></p><p>The Community Foundation of Henderson County was also set to benefit from the Barry Clemo Charitable Remainder Trust. Special Agent Andrew Papas, with the State Bureau of Investigation's financial crimes investigation unit, said Neill admitted to taking $884,514.71 from the trust between April 8, 2009 and Nov. 15, 2010. He promised to repay the trust $1,150,000.</p><p>“Mr. Clemo was a very humble man. He told me that his gift may not be the largest amount of money that the foundation worked with, but for him and his wife, it was the greatest gift they could ever give,” said McCray Benson, president of the foundation.</p><p>The trust created funds to help animals suffering from inhumane treatment and to assist families with loved ones at their end of life.</p><p>“I can still remember how much this legacy meant to Mr. Clemo and how happy he was at this ability to help others,” Benson said. “The actions of Sam Neill destroyed the Clemos' legacy.” </p><p>Papas testified that he started looking into the case of missing funds in the Clemo Trust in 2011, nearly two years after Clemo passed away. Four Seasons and the Foundation had not seen a dime.</p><p>In his investigation, Neill confessed that he also took funds from other trusts and estates, Papas said, totaling $2,479,197.35 between 2000 and 2010.</p><p>“...Mr. Neill represented himself to many in our community and across North Carolina as a champion of charitable causes. His actions in stealing money from Mr. Clemo's trust made plain that nothing could be further from the truth,” Benson said.</p><p><b>Repayment</b></p><p>Neill's lawyer, Joseph B. Cheshire, said his client worked with each of the successors to come up with plans for restitution. </p><p>Charles Waters, handling the Irene Meinke Trust, said repayments were “not negotiated in a sense of give and take,” but were offered in a “take it or leave it” deal with real estate as collateral.</p><p>He said Neill withdrew $342,000 from the Meinke Trust on Feb. 6, 2009, assigning repayment to deeds of trust to property owned by Mascral Inc. </p><p>“These deeds and trusts at the time were second and third liens on the collateral property. Those deeds of trust have since been wiped out by bankruptcy actions, so the collateral is worthless,” Waters said.</p><p>Attorney Edward Harrelson, representing the Edna A. Davis Revocable Living Trust, said their restitution is tied to property that has yet to be marketed for sale. The trust was set up to benefit the Blue Ridge Humane Society, St. Jude Christian Research Hospital, Alley Cat Allies, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. </p><p>“I do not know if we will ever receive any real restitution from the defendant,” Harrelson said. “As an attorney in Henderson County, I cannot say that I am personally angry, but I am profoundly saddened and disappointed.”</p><p>Waters said this was a hard case for him and for the profession he has devoted his life to since 1968. County lawyers had escaped from a cloud of bad publicity after local lawyer Jim Toms was charged with embezzling about $1.5 million from his clients in 1995, he added. </p><p>The case of Sam Neill has also weighed heavily on his family.</p><p>“When my brother told me, I guess my first duty was to make sure that he didn't try to kill himself because he was so distraught about this,” said Roy Neill, younger brother of Sam Neill.</p><p>Both brothers agreed to sell a tract of family land they now co-own that once hosted an old drive-in theater to help repay the Clemo Trust. The property is now listed with a sale price of $1.9 million. Sam Neill's half of the proceeds will benefit the trust.</p><p>“Our family wants to help how we can,” Roy Neill said. “He (Sam Neill) has done a lot for people over the years. He has his faults just like everybody else, but we were not raised to be thieves. It was a shock to me when I found out that he did this.”</p><p>Roy Neill said he initially thought his brother was going to tell him he had cancer when Sam Neill asked to see him two years ago. </p><p>“He had lost 60 pounds over a period of about six months,” Roy Neill said, recalling his brother bursting into tears in front of him as he began to talk about the embezzlement. “It was very contrary to the way he'd lived his life.”</p><p>Reach Weaver at emily.weaver@blueridgenow.com or 828-694-7867.</p>